Collateral Damage Daily for September 7

Sean Burnett is scheduled to play catch tomorrow. If everything goes well, he might be ready as soon as early next week. … Jered Weaver was diagnosed with right biceps tendinitis, although the Angels believe it is not related to the comebacker that struck him on Sunday. At this point, he is only expected to miss one start. … An MRI on Chris Tillman’s right elbow revealed ulnar neuritis. He could be close to throwing. … Mark Teixeira ran in the outfield yesterday but admitted to tightness in his calf afterward. He could miss the entire weekend. … Xavier Nady strained his left hamstring Wednesday and is day-to-day.

Additions

Brandon McCarthy’s injury was much worse than originally thought. McCarthy needed to undergo surgery to relieve pressure caused by an epidural hemorrhage and brain contusion. An epidural hemorrhage is a bleed between the skull and the outer layer of the brain. These bleeds are often arterial in nature and the result of significant trauma, such as a batted ball ricocheting off the skull. The pressure is relieved by drilling a small hole or patch through the skull. McCarthy is being monitored in the hospital and has already shown progress. He is expected to make a full recovery in time for spring training next year.

Brandon Inge was placed on the 15-day DL, retroactive to September 2, with a strained right shoulder. He is expected to undergo surgery next week to correct a dislocation. He should be ready for spring training.

Subtractions

Jason Hammel was activated from the 15-day DL yesterday after missing 54 days recovering from right knee surgery to remove loose bodies. This is longer than the average DL stay, but Hammel didn’t show any ill effects in his no-decision yesterday. There was a little concern after Robinson Cano hit a ball off Hammel’s elbow in the fourth inning. He stayed in the game and struck out a total of six batters on the night. Hammel may need his next start pushed back because of the bruised elbow, though.

McCarthy's injury might have ended up being fatal but the trauma does not seem to be as severe as Chapman's.

According to a NYT article the next day and the SABR Baseball Biography Project, when he was struck he almost immediately started bleeding from his left ear. He suffered a large depressed fracture of about 3 and a half inches long. I haven't heard exact dimensions of McCarthy's fracture but I do not believe it was nearly as bad as Chapman's. In addition to the skull fracture, he suffered clots which sounds similar to the bleeding that McCarthy suffered.

The biggest difference is medical technology and how quickly a surgery can be performed. The game started at 2PM and he was injured in the 5th inning. This would put it roughly around 4PM or so. Chapman was taken to the hospital where surgery would not begin until roughly 12:30AM and completed about 1:45AM. So it was six to eight hours after the injury before surgery started.

Also, back then of course they didn't have CT scans. Almost immediately upon arriving at the hospital, Chapman would have a CT scan showing the injuries and rushed into surgery. The amount of bleeding into the brain might not be as severe and complications might be minimized.

In 1920, McCarthy's bleed may not have been diagnosed until it started showing other signs hours later. By the time he ended up at the hospital, underwent tests, and surgery, there is a good chance he would not have survived.

So summing up, Chapman would very likely survived the injury if it occurred today while McCarthy's could have easily proved fatal.

Quick mention about the time of the injury. It happened in the late afternoon/twilight so it was probably closer to around 6-7PM injury instead of 4PM. This would still leave about six hours after the injury before surgery started.